Kansen Chu

American politician from California
朱感生Kansen ChuMember of the California State Assembly
from the 25th districtIn office
December 1, 2014 – December 7, 2020Preceded byBob WieckowskiSucceeded byAlex LeeMember of the San Jose City Council from District 4In office
2007–2014Preceded byChuck ReedMember of the Berryessa Union School District Board of TrusteesIn office
February 10, 2021 – 2022 Personal detailsBorn (1952-10-27) October 27, 1952 (age 71)
Taipei, TaiwanNationalityAmericanPolitical partyDemocraticSpouseDaisy ChuChildren2ResidenceSan Jose, CaliforniaAlma materCalifornia State University, Northridge (MS)OccupationComputer programmer, restaurant owner, politician

Kansen Chu (Chinese: 朱感生; pinyin: Zhū Gǎnshēng born October 27, 1952) is a Taiwanese-born American politician. A Democrat, Chu was a member of the California State Assembly from 2014 to 2020, for the 25th District, which encompasses parts of the South and East Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area.[1][2]

In 2019, Chu announced that he would not seek reelection for State Assembly in 2020, instead running for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. He lost to Otto Lee in the general election.[3]

On February 10, 2021, Chu was appointed to the Berryessa Union School District Board of Trustees to fill a vacant seat. His current term ends in 2022.[4]

Chu ran for the 24th Assembly district seat in the redrawn 2022 election, but was defeated in the primary by incumbent Alex Lee.[5]

In the 2024 election, Chu is running for 4th district of the San Jose City Council on which he previously served as councilmember from 2007 to 2014.[6]

Early life

In 1952, Chu was born in Taipei, Taiwan.

Education

Chu earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from National Taipei University of Technology. Chu earned a master's degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Northridge.[7]

Career

In 1978, Chu became a microdiagnostics microprogrammer at IBM, where he worked for 18 years. In 1989, Chu became an owner of a Chinese restaurant, until 2007.[7]

In 2002, Chu began his political career as a member of Berryessa Union School District board of education.[8]

Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2014, Chu was a San Jose City Councilmember representing District 4. He is a member of the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. He was the first Taiwanese-American elected to the San Jose City Council.

2000 San Jose City Council

In 2000, Chu was defeated by Chuck Reed for the District 4 council seat.

In his first year on the council (2007), Chu initiated landmark legislation to require citywide green building standards, ban the use of plastic bags, and mandate the installation of automatic heart defibrillators across San Jose.

2002 Berryessa Union School Board

In 2002, Chu was elected to the Berryessa Union School Board. As a school board member, he championed stronger curricula, better education materials, and improved public access to school board meetings.

Chu has served on the Berryessa Union School Board for 5 years, Santa Clara Valley Metro YMCA, Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation, Shin Shin Education Foundation, and Advisory Board of Californians for Justice. Kansen has also served on the Santa Clara County Mental Health Board, Private Industry Council under Job Training Partnership Act, Neighborhood Accountability Board of Berryessa, the KNTV Channel 11 Community Board, Asian Law Alliance, and many other advisory commissions and boards. He continues to serve on the board of Vision New America, dedicated to advancing youth involvement in civics and government.

Departing the California Assembly

On May 13, 2019, Chu announced that he would be a candidate for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 2020. He will not be seeking reelection to the Assembly.[9]

Election history

2014 California State Assembly

California's 25th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kansen Chu 16,672 30.6
Republican Bob Brunton 12,699 23.3
Democratic Armando Gomez 9,218 16.9
Democratic Teresa Cox 9,104 16.7
Democratic Craig Steckler 6,835 12.5
Total votes 54,528 100.0
General election
Democratic Kansen Chu 57,718 69.4
Republican Bob Brunton 25,441 30.6
Total votes 83,159 100.0
Democratic hold

2016 California State Assembly

California's 25th State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kansen Chu (incumbent) 61,980 75.5
Republican Bob Brunton 20,146 24.5
Total votes 82,126 100.0
General election
Democratic Kansen Chu (incumbent) 107,821 72.8
Republican Bob Brunton 40,280 27.2
Total votes 148,101 100.0
Democratic hold

2018 California State Assembly

California's 25th State Assembly district election, 2018
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kansen Chu (incumbent) 36,417 51.8
Republican Bob Brunton 16,391 23.3
Democratic Carmen Montano 15,345 21.8
Libertarian Robert Imhoff 2,127 3.0
Total votes 70,280 100.0
General election
Democratic Kansen Chu (incumbent) 98,612 74.3
Republican Bob Brunton 34,193 25.7
Total votes 132,805 100.0
Democratic hold

Personal life

In 1976, Chu moved to the United States. Chu's wife is Daisy Chu. They have two children. Chu and his family live in San Jose, California.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Assemblymember Kansen Chu /Legislative Technology & Innovation Caucus". catechcaucus.legislature.ca.gov. California, U.S.: California State Legislature. Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  2. ^ Archive, ABC7. "Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Salutes: Kansen Chu /ABC7 San Francisco Archive /abc7news.com". abc7news.com. New York, U.S.: ABC News. Retrieved 2019-04-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Election 2020 Santa Clara County Election Results". KQED. December 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  4. ^ "NOTICE OF BOARD APPOINTMENT". Board Member Information. Berryessa Union School District. February 11, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Current Assembly District 24 Candidate Kansen Chu on mental health in schools". 20 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Meet Kansen Chu".
  7. ^ a b c "Kansen Chu's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "School Board Candidate Wu Fredericks Picks Up Another Endorsement - Assemblymember Kansen Chu adds his support to school board candidate". pasadenanow.com. November 2, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "2 School Trustees Announce Bids for Kansen Chu's Assembly Seat". San Jose Inside. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-06-19.

External links

  • "Official website for assembly district 25 (archived)". Archived from the original on 2020-11-26.
  • Campaign website
  • Chu at smartvoter.org
  • Kansen Chu at ballotpedia.org
  • v
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2023–24 Session
Speaker of the Assembly
Robert Rivas
Speaker pro tempore
Jim Wood (D)
Majority Leader
Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D)
Minority Leader
James Gallagher (R)
  1. ▌Megan Dahle (R)
  2. ▌Jim Wood (D)
  3. ▌James Gallagher (R)
  4. ▌Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D)
  5. ▌Joe Patterson (R)
  6. ▌Kevin McCarty (D)
  7. ▌Josh Hoover (R)
  8. ▌Jim Patterson (R)
  9. ▌Heath Flora (R)
  10. ▌Stephanie Nguyen (D)
  11. ▌Lori Wilson (D)
  12. ▌Damon Connolly (D)
  13. ▌Carlos Villapudua (D)
  14. ▌Buffy Wicks (D)
  15. ▌Tim Grayson (D)
  16. ▌Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D)
  17. ▌Matt Haney (D)
  18. ▌Mia Bonta (D)
  19. ▌Phil Ting (D)
  20. ▌Liz Ortega (D)
  21. ▌Diane Papan (D)
  22. ▌Juan Alanis (R)
  23. ▌Marc Berman (D)
  24. ▌Alex Lee (D)
  25. ▌Ash Kalra (D)
  26. ▌Evan Low (D)
  27. ▌Esmeralda Soria (D)
  28. ▌Gail Pellerin (D)
  29. ▌Robert Rivas (D)
  30. ▌Dawn Addis (D)
  31. ▌Joaquin Arambula (D)
  32. Vacant
  33. ▌Devon Mathis (R)
  34. ▌Tom Lackey (R)
  35. ▌Jasmeet Bains (D)
  36. ▌Eduardo Garcia (D)
  37. ▌Gregg Hart (D)
  38. ▌Steve Bennett (D)
  39. ▌Juan Carrillo (D)
  40. ▌Pilar Schiavo (D)
  41. ▌Chris Holden (D)
  42. ▌Jacqui Irwin (D)
  43. ▌Luz Rivas (D)
  44. ▌Laura Friedman (D)
  45. ▌James Ramos (D)
  46. ▌Jesse Gabriel (D)
  47. ▌Greg Wallis (R)
  48. ▌Blanca Rubio (D)
  49. ▌Mike Fong (D)
  50. ▌Eloise Reyes (D)
  51. ▌Rick Zbur (D)
  52. ▌Wendy Carrillo (D)
  53. ▌Freddie Rodriguez (D)
  54. ▌Miguel Santiago (D)
  55. ▌Isaac Bryan (D)
  56. ▌Lisa Calderon (D)
  57. ▌Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D)
  58. ▌Sabrina Cervantes (D)
  59. ▌Phillip Chen (R)
  60. ▌Corey Jackson (D)
  61. ▌Tina McKinnor (D)
  62. ▌Anthony Rendon (D)
  63. ▌Bill Essayli (R)
  64. ▌Blanca Pacheco (D)
  65. ▌Mike Gipson (D)
  66. ▌Al Muratsuchi (D)
  67. ▌Sharon Quirk-Silva (D)
  68. ▌Avelino Valencia (D)
  69. ▌Josh Lowenthal (D)
  70. ▌Tri Ta (R)
  71. ▌Kate Sanchez (R)
  72. ▌Diane Dixon (R)
  73. ▌Cottie Petrie-Norris (D)
  74. ▌Laurie Davies (R)
  75. ▌Marie Waldron (R)
  76. ▌Brian Maienschein (D)
  77. ▌Tasha Boerner (D)
  78. ▌Chris Ward (D)
  79. ▌Akilah Weber (D)
  80. ▌David Alvarez (D)